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IMO The biggest problem with adding a cash prize is our sport is "JUDGED" therefore it is subjective and not always a clear winner. In horse races everybody can tell who won. The dog games have plenty of issues without adding cash prizes.

That being said there have been a few events run for cash and prizes over the years.

To my knowledge the S.R.S. is the only sanctioned circuit that plays for cash.

There were two events held, one in 2005 and another in 2006 that paid $20,000 cash to the winner and also paid out to other placements.

Some folks loved it. Some did not.

Money events have been held, and some are still being held.

If you want to go run a money event, you can find one. If you want to run an event that doesn't pay out prize money, they exist.

It is probably not a good use of time to try and turn a venue that does not pay out, into one that does.

Chris

I also might add; before you kid yourself into thinking you can enter a "play for pay" event and "get some of your expenses back", consider how many trials you have won thus far. If you're not already a consistent winner, what makes you think you can win an event with big bucks on the line??

JS

ďDonít wave your phony patriotism in MY face! If you really love America, open your wallet and hire an American kid to build what you buy. Doug Fraser (paraphrased) 1980Real Americans buy American.

Though I've never trained an FC much less an NFC, I've heard rumors of people making pretty good money on stud fees with a NFC. Particularly with a chocolate lab, or other breeds that haven't seen or rarely see NFC's or NAFC's. So, if your the best, it may be somewhat indirect, but I would still argue that you could make some money back on your "investments".

if you want to play for money they have a competition called the SRS..Super Retriever Series

once you bring prize money into a game, that game changes forever,and not always for the better..you would drive the amateur out of the game, and they are the backbone of the sport, they are the ones that put on the trials (no offense to the PRTA)..if you think people biaatch and moan about the judging now, multiply that times a thousand when you are competing for money

the people that I know in the FT game don't do it for money, quite a few are rich or even wealthy by some standards, they love to compete, they love the satisfaction of training dogs, they do it for the love of their dogs..

The dog games are one of the few competitions where a broke guy can run his dog against a millionaire's dog and may the best dog win...its also one of the few sports where a broke guy can engage a rich guy in a conversation about something they have in common, the love of a good dog..It hard to do that in everyday life but at a FT/HT it really is all about the dogs

And as we progressed through Senior and Master, I never considered costs or winning ribbons...it has been a "priceless" journey for Me and Mercy...and I'm starting all over again with a 2 year old! And then I could only begin to tell you all the great people I've met and the special friendships I've made. I've only been in the sport for 4 years, but it's been some of the best times of my life!

If you think it's lame to put HT titles on your dogs or compete for a blue ribbon - then you don't love the game.
If you want to be financially incented for your performance or that of your dogs- I'd suggest getting a sales job and would "second" Bon's suggestion of running the SRS.

I have done the whole hunt test thing the last few years, (not so much lately) mainly because i have just lost interest in dog events, but i can't stop thinking about why this sport is so expensive and you don't win a dime at events! You pay 1500 or so for a well bred pup, for a good pro your another grand a month (if you send it to one), all the time, training equipment, time, gas, time, 75 bucks or so each to run the dog in a test or trial etc... and if your dog passes you get a hand shake, ribbon and a round of applause! Make a winner and a loser and put an incentive $$ out there, stop sugar coating it everybody doesn't need to win a trophy were not in little league wrestling anymore! Can you imagine how the sport would be if there were a earnings record on a dog and you went home from a test or trial with a few hundred or thousand back in your pocket? They do it with horses in multiple events hell even pigeon racing wins something! If you want to stop the high turnover rate in clubs after someone gets a junior or senior title then make it worth there time to take it to the next level. I don't see myself in the near future doing another dog event mainly because i look back and see how lame it was to put all that time and energy into something and the only reward is a ribbon and personal satisfaction. and for some people thats all they want and thats fine but they might as well have there neighbor huck some ducks in the field behind there house instead of financially getting bent over going to an event unless there trying to get a different ribbon color. I know i'll get some slack for this but i'm sure it's crossed your mind before.